TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Palestine-Israel ongoing conflict has heated up following the controversial decision made by the United States President Donald Trump. He announced that the U.S. acknowledges Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
Trump’s arbitrary decision regarding one of the most disputed cities in the world has sparked outrage from around the world. Here are five important facts that you need to know about Jerusalem throughout the years.
Read: Arab States Urge US to Abandon Jerusalem Move
1. Divided population (May 14, 1948)
Citizens of Jerusalem not just comprise of Israel’s Jewish community, and Muslim and Christian Palestinians. But there is also the Jewish Ultra-orthodox that account for one-third of the entire 542,000 people of the city. The Palestinians in Jerusalem, either Muslims or Christians, are not considered to be Israelis that make their access to Jerusalem’s public services are very limited. The Palestinians are also not involved in the city and parliamentary's elections.
2. Jerusalem Syndrome (2000)
A psychological condition was initially detected in 2000 which affects some of Jerusalem’s holy sites pilgrims, either Christians, Muslims, or Jewish. It is a mental phenomenon involving the presence of religiously obsessive ideas, delusions or other psychosis-like experiences happened to some people after a visit to the holy land Jerusalem.
3. Tourist Destination (2016)
According to the Center of Statistics Bureau, 78 percent of the three million tourists that enter Israel in 2016 have visited Jerusalem. Muslim pilgrims would visit the Al-Aqsa mosque complex, known as the Temple Mount by Jewish pilgrims who mostly pay pilgrimage to the Western Wall. Meanwhile, Christians have their Holy Sepulchre church.
Read: EU Tells Netanyahu it Rejects Trump's Jerusalem Move
4. Secular Life (2017)
Apart from the religious sites, Jerusalem also houses the Palestinian National Theater which is one of the rarest Palestinian institutions located in Jerusalem. Other than that, Israel’s higher education facilities - founded by Albert Einstein and Sigmund Freud - are also located in Jerusalem.
5. Jerusalem’s Current Status
Israel took control of East Jerusalem from Jordan since the 1967 war. That step was never acknowledged by members of the international society. Palestinians see East Jerusalem as their capital. Every foreign country has placed their embassies at the commercial capital of Tel Aviv. The eastern part of the city houses several important holy sites for Jewish, Muslims, and Christians.
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